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3 Tips for kids with Jetlag and travel sickness on arrival in Japan

Are you worried about your kids having Jetlag and being exhausted when you arrive at Narita Airport?

Here are some tips for how to make sure you ENJOY this transition to Tokyo with your baby and kids with the least stress and the most fun!

*This post is particularly focused on your arrival at Narita Airport*

Tips

1. Stay at an airport hotel

If your child is sensitive to travel sickness (my son always gets sick!), or you will have jet lag when you arrive in Japan, I highly recommend to stay at a hotel at the airport. There are many airports to choose from at Narita Airport. And all of them have shuttle buses so it is easy to get there. It will take over 1.5 hours to get to Tokyo from the airport, but just 10min to the airport hotel. So if you think you will be exhausted or your flight arrives late at night, I highly recommend to stay at a hotel! (I do it all the time and I guarantee it is a life saver!)

2. Order room service

After a long flight, your baby and YOU will be exhausted. Instead of going to a restaurant for dinner, I highly recommend to order room service! The hotels usually have kids meals on the menu (see photos below) which is great. Your kids will enjoy hanging out in the room, and taking a rest. They can also enjoy playing with their toys in peace and quiet (especially if your flight arrived late at night).

3. Visit Narita-san Mountain Temple

Whether you have just arrived in Narita or you will be departing on a flight later in the day, make sure you visit this amazing temple. It is HUGE and easy to get there. There are many temple buildings set on this beautiful mountain with trees and lots of space for your kids to run around. We caught a taxi to the temple (just a few minutes from the airport hotel) and it was even more amazing than I expected! Make sure you visit with your kids!!

Extra points:

I received a question on instagram about whether I give my son travel sickness medicine.

To be honest, I had never given him medicine before. However, now that he is 7 years old, I did try it on our recent trip to Australia in November. But he still vomited everywhere! And it was even worse because I wasn’t ready for it. (So sorry to my mother’s car!!!).

So, this trip to Australia for Christmas, I didn’t give him any medicine, but instead I tried to take it more slowly and stay at airport hotels along the way (before departure and on arrival). This honestly made a HUGE improvement, as there was less pressure to go immediately from plane to car, or from the plane to the bus. Taking a good break in between really seemed to make a difference.

I also make an effort to travel when the kids can have a sleep. I find overnight flights are better, and also car/bus travel is better if I can time it when the kids can have a sleep. This way, they can relax and sleep, and when they wake up we are already at our destination.

I also make sure my kids don’t get too hot. My son gets more sick when he overheats, so I always pack light clothes that he can wear on the plane/bus/car. When we came back to Tokyo after Christmas, he literally wore shorts and t-shirt (coming from the summer in Australia) and it was fantastic for keeping his temperature down! He was cold though when we arrived back at Narita Airport, so I had to get out our winter clothes from the suitcase and redress them before we took the shuttle bus to the airport hotel.

Hope these tips help!!

Please let me know if you have any questions!

xoxo Kate

Room service at the Narita Airport hotel! Great kids meals on the menu, so you can relax and enjoy in your room while you recover from your flight

The temples at Narita Mountain are amazing! This is one of the pagodas on the top of the hill. So beautiful and a great way to get some fresh air for the kids and let them run around to recover from jet lag or travel sickness

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